Pavement Preservation and Restoration

Paved surfaces do not last forever. Eventually pavement is going to crack, either from excessive exposure to sunlight, from the long-term effects of moisture, or most likely a combination of both. The strong rays of the sun could eventually oxidize asphalt surfaces causing them to harden and shrink, eventually leading to cracks and breaks at the weakest points, the joints. This provides the opportunity for water to seep into the cracks, softening and weakening the sub-base. In order to avoid excessive cracking, etc. many paving companies recommend proactive and preventive maintenance of paved surfaces. Coast Pavement Services out of Portland talks about paved surfaces having a “life-cycle,” that starts with the initial construction of the pavements and, with the proper timing and proper products, the life of the pavement can be extended far beyond its average life. The sad fact is, most business owners do not understand this concept of pavement life-cycle and subsequently only act after they notice cracks in the pavement or it is breaking up. Therefore, they do not realize how important it is to have regular maintenance or preservation treatments applied when the surface is still in good condition because once it starts deteriorating it becomes much more difficult to keep the pavement from needing a complete overlay or reconstruction.
Rose Paving Co., whose main offices are in Bridgeview, Illinois, also recommends to their clients preventative maintenance as a solution to prevent further deterioration of parking lots. Being proactive means that business owners need to act as soon as the surface starts showing the first shows signs of wear and tear such as raveling, transverse cracks, longitudinal cracks, or minor block cracking, etc. The cracks can be sealed but the recommended maintenance strategy is to have the entire surface seal coated. Rose Paving’s sealcoat consists of either coal tar pitch or asphalt cement mixed with inert fillers, water, emulsifying agents, or additives. When this is applied in thin coats, seal coating is used to protect off-highway pavement surfaces against gasoline, oil, salt, water, and ultraviolet rays. In addition to seal coating, Rose Paving takes advantage of infrared laser asphalt repair technology. Some of the advantages over conventional removal and then replacement of asphalt are the time spent, and money saved, because repairs can be completed quickly, with minimal parking lot disturbances. With infrared technology there is no cutting or sealing involved, and so the thermal bonding makes it an integral portion of the asphalt pavement that was repaired. Plus, this method allows contractors to operate either night or day, no matter what the weather.
Like Rose Paving, Pavement Specialties of Idaho, Inc. (PSI) knows how important it is to educate present and future clients about paved surface maintenance. PSI is equipped and staffed to offer excavation, paving, crack sealing, seal coating, pavement markings, and sweeping all in house. By offering all of these services, they are able to maintain a high quality of workmanship as well as keeping their pricing competitive and maintaining control of their own schedule. Their asphalt division uses a variety of high end equipment to complete their projects. They utilize Catapillar skid steers and rollers and Lee Boy Pavers for the majority of their projects. They have also added a Writgen asphalt mill to their company, allowing then to provide a more eco-friendly way for removing asphalt by giving them the opportunity to repurpose the recycled asphalt material that is milled off. PSI’s seal coating utilizes large tanker trucks equipped with Neal Manufacturing ESSP pumps that provide a steady pressure for spraying. They also hold up well throughout the season as tens of thousands of gallons run through the pumps each year. Their crack filling machine of choice is the Cimline Magma 230. They have found that these easy-to-operate machines hold up well to the daily use they are put through.

Story by Mark Joseph Manion

RESOURCES:
www.pavementspecialties.com
www.rosepaving.com
www.pavementservices.com
www.catapillar.com
www.leeboy.com
www.wirtgen-group.com
www.nealequip.com
www.cimlinepmg.com